New Delhi: Do you take tea in a plastic cup which is brought in colourful polythene bags? Do you consume food which is packed in polythene? If it is so, shun this practice, otherwise you will contract serious liver and kidney disease or even cancer.

Polythene bags or plastic cups available in markets are re-cycled which is made with the help of a poisonous chemical-Bisphenol-A. According to various tests conducted so far, this compound has been proved cancerous.

Apart from Bisphenol-A, other chemicals that are used in giving colour to plastics are also toxic. Whether it is keeping hot tea or a cold item in a plastic cup, both are equally harmful and the toxic chemicals get mixed with them.

According to Dr Bir Singh in AIIMS Community Medicine Department, consuming stuff in colourful and white recycled plastic jars or cups can also be hazardous.

The Bisphenol-A is harmful for children as well as pregnant women. It can lead to breast cancer in women and also become a reason for miscarriages. It can affect fertility in males as well.

Former AIIMS Neuro specialist who is presently with Artimus Hills Institute in Gurgaon, Dr Praveen Gupta said that toxic chemicals enter body through consuming foods packed in plastic bags. It affects the brain activity. This can also affect memory power in children, he said.

According to experts, Bisphenol-A also affects Alfa cell which produces insulin in pancreas. Insulin controls glucose levels in our body. The chemical also influences the level of hormones in our body.

Director, Central Institute of Plastics Engineering and Technology in Lucknow, Dr Vijay Kumar said that colour in plastics bags and polythene are great enemy of humans.

Head of PGI, Lucknow Gastro Medicine Department Dr G Choudhary warned against having tea in red and blue plastics as it can lead to abdominal diseases. It can also cause lack of concentration in children.